MTC Program March 13, 2019

Welcome to the 2019 Minnesota's Transportation Conference. Scroll down to find a summary of the day's activities, as well as details of concurrent sessions, listed by time block. Plan to attend the reception at 5:00 p.m., sponsored by Alliant Engineering Inc.

Welcome Plenary and Lunch: noon–1:30 p.m.

Grand Ballroom

To avoid becoming the next disastrous data-breach headline, you must foster a healthy culture of security that addresses both the technological and human elements of data defense. Change happens when you create energy and buy-in among the people who handle your mission-critical information. When it comes to the latest data security threats, you can't possibly do everything-but you must do the right things. This cyber security training crash course forges a high-level, non-technical path through the often- confusing web of human decision making, cyber defense, mobile technology, IoT, social media and cloud computing-critical components of your success. This highly-interactive presentation builds on John's experience losing everything to cybercrime, continues with a live hacking demo of an audience member's smartphone and ends with an actionable Roadmap of Next Steps.

Wednesday Sessions: 2:00–3:30 p.m.

Session

Description, Presenter/Moderator

Location

1.

Hidden in Plain Sight: Using Transportation as a Gateway to STEM Careers

Everyone uses roads, bridges, transit, sidewalks, and other forms of transportation to get where they need to go every day. We want to leverage those assets to help inspire and encourage the next generation of transportation professionals.

This presentation provides an overview of resources, activities, and upcoming events available to educators and the public, and explains how anyone could use these resources to help secure a diverse future transportation workforce. We will also discuss the changing nature of career and technical education and preparing students for the broader variety of transportation and industrial technology careers.

Nicole Bartelt, Richard Davis, and Marcia Lochner, MnDOT

Tim Barrett, Minnesota Department of Education

Lisa Breu, SRF Consulting

Teri Vogt, Science Museum of Minnesota

Moderator: Denise Woods, Associated General Contractors

Meeting Rooms 2−3

2.

Cross-Agency Collaboration for the Mega Project on I-35W and I-94

The I-35W Downtown to Crosstown project in Minneapolis successfully progressed from its design through its most impactful stage in 2018. This session will provide an update on the project from a communications standpoint. It will also describe the accelerated design and construction of the METRO Orange Line 12th Street Transit Ramp and how transit service was maintained during the construction stages.

Title: Cross-Agency Collaboration to Maintain Throughput While Building the 35W of the FutureJim Henricksen, MnDOT; Kristin Thompson, Metro Transit

This presentation will discuss a first-of-its-kind, data-driven crash analysis tool. The tool identifies crash trends and potential future problem locations. This tool was used recently by Carver County to review their transportation system. The session will also discuss the process to incorporate third-party speed data to evaluate Greater Minnesota mobility and reliability.

Title: Less "Bang" for the Buck: Safety Analysis in the Time of Big DataBryan Nemeth, Bolton & MenkLyndon Robjent, Carver County

Latest Trends in Advancing Connected and Automated Vehicle Work in Minnesota

The State of Minnesota is rapidly advancing policy and technology for Connected and Automated Vehicles (CAV). This session will focus on the Governor’s Advisory Council, policy updates, MnDOT CAV strategic plan, and MnDOT CAV Testing and Deployment.

Jay Hietpas, Sue Mulvihill, and Kristin White, MnDOT

Moderator: Tim Burkhart, WSP

Meeting Rooms 4−5

5.

Collaboration in Bicycle and Pedestrian Planning

The Metropolitan Council and MnDOT Metro District have developed policy plans to coordinate bicycle infrastructure in planning efforts. These plans will work together to improve investment and project development decisions in a way that helps to ensure a secure future for bicycle transportation. This session will include Saint Paul’s Pedestrian Plan to guide infrastructure decisions at uncontrolled intersections.

Title: Making Strides for Walking in Saint PaulNichole Morris, University of MinnesotaFay Simer, City of Saint Paul

Moderator: Maria Wardoku, Alta Planning + Design

Meeting Room 9

6.

What's New in the World of Transit

Transit is ever evolving with new innovations in technology. Learn how the electrification of buses in the Twin Cities Region is changing the needs of infrastructure, and how route planning and future plans need to accommodate this new advancement. The session will also look at innovations in the rural transit setting to allow for greater flexibility with these opportunities.

MnDOT has billions of dollars of assets to operate and maintain, including bridges, roads, roadsides, buildings, and many more. Hear about the new tools, technology, and innovations MnDOT is using to do that work safely and efficiently.

Todd Stevens, MnDOT

Moderator: Anita Benson, Stonebrooke Engineering

Meeting Room 8

Wednesday Sessions: 4:00–5:00 p.m.

Session

Description, Presenters, Moderator

Location

8.

Using Contracting and Purchasing Power to Increase Economic Opportunity—MnDOT's Results and Resolve

In the last two years, MnDOT has doubled the dollar value of its prime contracts awarded to local small businesses, particularly those owned by women, persons of color, Native Americans, and veterans. This presentation will highlight how MnDOT has created a more open, inclusive, and supportive procurement system.

MnDOT’s unique “Can of Worms” interchange in Duluth has a new name, “Twin Ports Interchange,” and it’s about to be reconstructed. Learn about this important northeastern Minnesota CMGC megaproject, its many risks and challenges, and how the project team is tackling the project development from three perspectives: owner, designer, and contractor.

Patrick Huston, MnDOT

Tom Jensen, Alliant Engineering

Stephen Kaldenbach, Kraemer North America

Moderator: Ross Jentick, WSB

Ballroom D

10.

3D Underground Utility Modeling

Unknown underground utilities can have a huge impact on the schedule and cost for a project. Find out what is being done in Minnesota and elsewhere to make 3D underground projects a reality. 3D underground can help the project life cycle in planning, design, construction, and maintenance.

MnDOT is currently developing a Connected and Automated Vehicle Strategic Plan. The plan seeks to identify short-, medium-, and long-term strategies to help guide MnDOT decision making in this uncertain future. The session will discuss a study for a segment of I-35W that looked at the feasibility to repurpose existing freeway lanes for different Automated Vehicle lanes.

Safety is Metro Transit’s top priority. Metro Transit has been looking for innovative solutions to minimize accidents around buses. This presentation will summarize what innovative efforts are being done to minimize accidents around buses, including a model for pedestrian and bicycle crash probabilities.

Title: Pedestrian and Bicycle Crashes in Minneapolis: An Equity PerspectiveTao Tao, University of Minnesota

Moderator: Tom Fidler, Stantec

Meeting Room 9

13.

A Multimodal Approach to Improve Mobility in the Highway 169 Corridor and MnPASS System Vision

As MnDOT plans for the future, the MnPASS High Occupancy Toll (HOT) lanes play an ever-increasing role in mitigating congestion and promoting greater accessibility. This session will focus on the updates to the MnPASS vision future expansions for additional corridors. To think holistically about the right solutions in the Highway 169 corridor, MnDOT, Metropolitan Council and Scott County collaborated on an innovative planning study which, for the first time in the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area, analyzed bus rapid transit (BRT), MnPASS Express Lanes, and highway spot mobility improvements in a single coordinated effort: the Highway 169 Mobility Study.

Worker safety is something we value at MnDOT, yet some construction and utility companies have injury rates 5 to 10 times lower. Hear how MnDOT is creating a culture of safety to eliminate injuries to its employees.